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The Body

Sustainable business practices are top of mind with consumers today. This module focuses on the tension between a highly engineered future that relies heavily on technology and a future that harkens back to more natural, traditional ways of living life.

Via Trend Hunter’s 3 billion views of data, we’ll explore growth opportunities when it comes to differentiating your brand, leveraging scarcity and leaning into nostalgia and sustainability. By focusing on examples in the food and beverage space, we’ll also uncover key shifts when it comes to expectations surrounding personalization and convenience.

The traditional gym space is revamped with unlikely alternative exercises

Trend - With alternative exercises becoming increasingly popular, traditional gym spaces are also transforming with unlikely beauty, mental, or fitness-related specialties. This comes as brands try to entice consumers with experimental experiences while helping them achieve their physical goals or those related to mindfulness.

Workshop Question - Conceptualize an retail space that functions as a unique alternative to the current products/services your brand offers.

Brands take inspiration from the astrology-minded tendencies of consumers

Trend - An increased interest in traditional and New-Age astrological practices is seen among Millennials and Gen Z. As a result, more brands from varied industries are referencing these spiritual practices. These spaces and products cater to the direct interests and experiential preferences of younger generations.

Workshop Question - Conceptualize an astrology-themed product, service or experience that your brand could offer its younger customers.

Trend - As K-pop continues to receive recognition overseas, popularity over these international music sensations are resonating in unexpected brand collaborations and product lines. Capitalizing on the influence of the music and the fan bases of the individual idols themselves, brands in fashion and cosmetic spaces are tapping into this cultural phenomenon.

Trend - With acne-specific skincare typically being the main purpose targeted to teenagers in the skincare space, brands are refocusing to focus more on the values and preferences of young people. Products that include socially conscious elements or stigma-reducing branding are on the rise as brands attempt to cater to Gen Z consumers in this space.

Workshop Question - How could your brand alter its messaging to better appeal to Gen Z?

Cosmetic brands follow the lead of a select few in offering affordable pricing

Trend - With brands like The Ordinary paving the way in affordable science-forward skincare, others are following suit by also prioritizing function, minimalism, and accessibility in their cosmetic items.

Trend - By reflecting the post-demographic beauty aesthetic often present in K-Pop, partnerships between K-Pop bands and beauty brands present an opportunity for individual expression to the masses of youth. K-Pop, originated in South Korea, is a style of Korean pop music that reflects modern beauty ideals of that culture, as well as its musical tastes. These ideals often sit in contrast to ideas of attractiveness in other countries -- for example, K-Pop spotlights a polished masculinity that is very different from what's seen in North America's common portrayal of maleness.

Workshop Question - What is one International trend you could leverage?

Skincare becomes more tactical through an increased focus on lymphatic drainage

Implications - Taking the focus away from ingredients and toward physical experiences and rituals, skincare "techniques" like lymphatic drainage and sculpting are becoming a bigger player in the increasingly competitive beauty space. Providing consumers with a new, exciting way to improve themselves and potentially receive more immediate benefits, this shift speaks to the general increased interest in personal care as well as a desire for more immediate results.

Workshop Question - What results are your consumers looking to achieve when it comes to your offering? What's an exciting, new way you could help them achieve that?

Trend - Shea butter has long been a staple in skincare and haircare products, and it's now being incorporated as a base in the cosmetics world. As a result, these products are able to enhance both consumers' beauty and the health of their skin.

Workshop Question - Consider an additional added benefit that your brand could add to one of its products/services.

Implications - Understanding the rising influence of social media influencers, as well as acknowledging the interest piqued when traditional brands collaborate with adjacent industries, cosmetic companies are ramping up their co-branding initiatives via various product lines and/or retail spaces. Such experiences and products are formed as cosmetic brands aim to target Millennial and Gen Z consumers, appealing to their proclivities for novelty purchase decisions.

Workshop Question - Consider a company or influencer your brand could co-create with.

Implications - Brands are aiming to create all-encompassing fitness spaces by incorporating programs designed to boost mental health. Creating fitness studios and programs centered around this area of expertise caters to a niche consumer base concerned with enhanced customization when it comes to their health and wellness.

Workshop Question - How could your brand prioritize consumer desires for both physical and mental well-being?

Implications - Brands are taking the flexible applications of the term "wellness" and incorporating it into their retail locations – either as an alternative for health stores or as extensions of their primary offerings. Such environments connect with consumers seeking one-stop purchase journeys that are focused on all-encompassing lifestyle solutions.

Workshop Question - How could your brand incorporate a distinct new element into its retail spaces?